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About

The Junior Term Abroad (JTA) of the Ateneo de Manila University began with the School of Management (SOM) in 2002. For its part, the School of Social Sciences (SOSS) started its own JTA program during the first semester of school year 2009-2010.

Operationally, JTA innovates various SOSS academic curricula, weaving the Ateneo school calendar with that of the partner institutions to allow students to experience academic and multi-cultural life abroad. Through the experiences of students participating in the program, SOSS intends to contribute to developing future leaders with a broad global perspective and understanding and thus imbibing sensitivity and appreciation for the cultures and contexts of various peoples.

Students participating in the program are expected to be ambassadors of goodwill. In representing the Ateneo, they are expected to live by magis, cura personalis, and service; as Filipinos, they are likewise expected to have a deep sense of self and nationhood exuding confidence and discipline.

Administration

Offices Involved

(1) SoSS Coordinator for Student Mobility Program – serves under the Office of the Dean of the School of Social Sciences, is tasked with the marketing of the program, running program orientation, recruitment and selection of students, and convening sharing sessions for JTAers who finished their program; coordinates with core/general education subjects with regard to convening a special class for JTA participants; informs the Office for International Relations (OIR), SOSS Chairs and the Registrar Office on the following: accepted/confirmed JTA participants, place and date of their deployment, and other administrative requests/follow-ups (i.e. enlistment, LOA, and crediting of subjects) and communications (i.e. letter of requests to teachers, etc.).

(2) Department Chairs/Department JTA Coordinators – advise students on their Individual Program of Study (IPS) in the context of their JTA deployment, advise them what subjects to take in the Ateneo prior to departure/upon return and guide them on the subjects they may take in their host schools, reflect the adjusted IPS in the AISIS, and assist them with regard to the crediting/validation of the subjects they took abroad (Note: it is imperative that the adjustment in the IPS of students will NOT delay them in finishing their respective degrees);

(3) Office for International Relations (OIR) – informs the SoSS Coordinator for Student Mobility Program of the list of schools, available slots, cost, and scholarship opportunities for JTA participants; advises students on the admission requirements of their host schools and their respective deadline, student visa processing, and lodging; convenes pre-departure orientation seminars for students as well as de-briefing session/s upon their return.

(4) Registrar’s Office (RO) – assists the students in their enlistment prior to deployment and upon return from their JTA program; in coordination with the Office of the Dean of SOSS and the SoSS Coordinator for Student Mobility Program, helps in establishing a ‘special JTA class’ should any need arise; and

(5) Office of the Dean for Academic Affairs – assists on academic concerns that may arise in relation to the participation of students in the program (e.g. grade of ‘F’)

JTA Schemes

The SoSS-JTA Program is of two schemes:

(1) Ateneo Tuition Fee Paying (ATF) - under this scheme students pay their tuition and fees at the Ateneo but attend their classes in their host school. This category is also known as the ‘tuition fee-waived’ JTA scheme. Available slots in this category are very limited and thus highly competitive. Additionally, the waiver only applies to school fees and does not include payment for student visa application, airfare, lodging and accommodation, meals and daily living expenses of students.

However, there are also opportunities for scholarships offered either by institutions (e.g. Temasek Foundation Leadership Enrichment and Regional Networking, National University of Singapore, Singapore) or by partner universities (e.g. Global Korea Scholarship Programme for Foreign Exchange Students, Sogang University, Korea).

The OIR provides the list of ‘tuition-waived’ (including the number of slots available) and fee paying schools.

(2) Host University Tuition Fee Paying (HTF) - under this scheme students pay the full cost of tuition and fees in their host school and attend their classes there. They would also shoulder all other costs related to student visa application, airfare, lodging and accommodation, meals and daily living expenses. This category is also known as 'tuition fee-paying' JTA scheme. The slots in this category are usually available and not limited.

Academic Calendar

SPRING TERM 2015-2016 (Academic calendar shift year) - This is only applicable to the JTA students for SY 2015-2016.

Regular Summer Term
(June-July 2015)*

Regular 1st Semester (August-December 2015)

Junior year core subject (Hi 165)

Ph 101

Junior year core subject (Eco 102 or PoS 100)

Histo 166

Junior year major subject (can be requested from the home department)

Th 131

Junior year major subject

Students will pay the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) fee (which is equivalent to a full load semester).

Junior year major subject

Junior year major subject

JTA (January-May 2016)

Free Elective 1

Free Elective 2

Major Elective 1

Major Elective 2

*Ph 102 and Ph 103/104 should be taken during the 1st Semester (August-December 2016) of the Senior Year.

Host Universities

List of host universities for SoSS JTA program is usually provided by the Office of International Relations in January. To see the updated list (as of 11 February 2015), kindly click this link.

JTA Expenses*

Regardless of the JTA scheme, JTA students are required to pay the following: